Road to becoming the wealthiest: Starting From Treasure Hunting in the Cabinets
Chapter 933 - 523 This is actually a small base!

Chapter 933: Chapter 523 This is actually a small base!

Xing Chan Temple is a millennium-old ancient temple, which, according to legend, dates back to the Tang Dynasty in China.

It is said that the monk who established Xing Chan Temple once went to the White Horse Temple of the Tang Dynasty to study Buddhism and, after returning to Japan, continued his practices at a large temple. At the age of seventy, he came to the location of Xing Chan Temple and built a small temple to continue his cultivation.

This small temple later became the precursor to Xing Chan Temple.

From its inception, Xing Chan Temple has had a very close connection with the Chan (Zen) Buddhism of China. Monks from Japan would travel to China to exchange and learn Buddhist teachings every few decades or centuries.

Officially speaking, the relationship between Xing Chan Temple and China is quite good. Over the years, there have been numerous exchanges with certain Chinese temples, and Chinese monks have also come to Japan to preach and further their education.

When Sean Knight and Elijah Hastings quietly arrived at Xing Chan Temple, they found that, despite the late hour, the temple was not quiet at all; in fact, it was rather lively.

"Boss, is there something wrong with Xing Chan Temple? It’s midnight and they’re still up to something? Why is it so lively?"

Although the front gate of Xing Chan Temple was already closed, the candles in each main hall were lit, and monks were moving in and out of one of the central halls, their actions a mystery.

With better hearing than ordinary people, the two could still hear the monks chanting in the main hall, apparently engaged in some sort of ritual.

"Boss, should we go over and take a look?" Elijah Hastings, who had already climbed over the wall, asked Sean Knight.

"Let’s sneak over there and see," Sean Knight looked around. Thankfully, aside from that main hall, the rest of the area was quiet. Although there were candles lit in front of the Buddha statues in the side palaces, there were no monks present, so their presence would unlikely cause a disturbance.

The two stealthily made their way closer, stopping about twenty meters away from the main hall — there were shrubberies here that provided ample concealment for them.

Sean Knight activated his Sky Eye to look inside the main hall. He saw monks in various colored cassocks seated in meditation, chanting scriptures, and in front of the Tathagata Buddha statue was an item wrapped in yellow cloth.

Through the yellow cloth, the Sky Eye revealed eight small porcelain jars, which contained ashes!

Could they be the ashes of those seven war criminals?

Shouldn’t there be seven? Why were there eight?

Sean Knight was puzzled, what did this mean?

"Boss, should we find an opportunity to sneak in?" Elijah Hastings whispered quietly.

"No, let’s check out the back," Sean Knight shook his head. He had already determined that there was an undeniable connection between this place and Xingya Avalokitesvara Temple!

"Boss, why did we come here?" As the two made their way towards the backyard, with no one around, Elijah Hastings quietly asked.

"Because the report I saw earlier mentioned," Sean Knight explained softly, "that Xingya Avalokitesvara Temple was actually supported and established by a monk from Xing Chan Temple.

Though Xing Chan Temple later declared that the monk had been stripped of his authorization and had no further ties with the temple, in reality, that wasn’t the case. Xing Chan Temple and certain individuals still had dealings with that monk.

Even after that monk passed away and his disciple took over Xingya Avalokitesvara Temple, there were still secret interactions with Xing Chan Temple."

"So that’s it!" Elijah Hastings had a sudden realization, "That means Xing Chan Temple openly maintains close connections with the Buddhist community in China, but they’re actually involved in unsavory activities behind the scenes!"

"At least, that’s what was stated in the report," Sean Knight said, "which is why we need to investigate — after the disappearance of Xingya Avalokitesvara Temple, this place is the most likely to take in those people."

Sean Knight came here with prior knowledge and was therefore more observant and targeted in his scrutiny. Coupled with his Sky Eye, it was natural for him to discover more information.

If it weren’t for Sean Knight suggesting to Elijah Hastings that they scout out this place tonight before resting, and given his explanation just now, it would probably have been difficult to spot any issues.

After all, Xing Chan Temple has a renowned reputation, and its close ties with Chinese Buddhism are also a known fact, making it hard to suspect.

This is an issue of cognitive inertia.

The two quietly crossed the partition wall between the front yard and the backyard and entered the backyard. They discovered that the space here was much larger than the front yard, and there were many more buildings compactly arranged.

The main halls built in the front yard follow a more orderly layout, adopting the Chinese style with the main hall on the central axis and symmetrical side halls on each side.

The buildings in the backyard were constructed much more compactly.

Neither of them could read Japanese; they had limited understanding of the text on the buildings — if combined with Chinese characters, they could barely guess, but otherwise, who would know that the character ’Yute Arashi’, mentioned as a legendary expert in a famous web novel, actually means ’hand washing area’?

Fortunately, Sean Knight had the Sky Eye, which allowed him to scan and roughly guess each place’s function.

For instance, the monks’ sleeping area was the most cramped with wide beds, and the furnishings were very simple — so basic that they bordered on spartan.

Then there was the kitchen and dining area, which also looked very old-fashioned. Observing these facilities made it seem as though this place was isolated from modern society, with hardly any items related to contemporary life, except for electrical wires and lights.

The Miscellaneous Storage had nothing noteworthy, containing only cleaning tools, spare bedding, kitchen facilities, reserves of tables and chairs, incense and candles, and so forth.

The Miscellaneous Storage was large, and the items stored were a little more than half-filled, suggesting that there was a considerable daily turnover of materials used here.